L: Make a joyful noise to God!
P: We sing the glory of God’s name!
L: Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!”
P: We come together to share what God has done.
L: God is at work here!
P: And over all the earth!
L: And so we worship and praise God’s name.
P: Let us worship in word and song.
All: Amen.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Sunday, August 28, 2022
"Inviting To: A Relationship with the World" a sermon on Matthew 25:31-45
Matthew 25:31-45
“Inviting To: A Relationship with the World”
Preached Sunday, August 28, 2022
We are now halfway through a 4 part sermon series called “Inviting To: A Relationship with…” This sermon series is laying the foundation for living out our 2022-2023 vision goal which we just kicked off at the beginning of this month and is already well-underway. That vision goal is: In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted.
And so, welcome to those who are here today by invitation! We’re so glad you’re here and yes, the rumors are true, there will be ice cream right after the service.
But back to the sermon series - we started by talking about “Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus.” A relationship with Jesus means abiding in God’s loving, knowing and feeling that you always have a home in Jesus where you are deeply known and deeply loved, just as you are.
Then, we moved on to “Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians.” A Relationship with Christians means that we who claim the name of Jesus belong to one another - we need each other to be the full body of Christ in this world. And through being the body of Christ together, we know God is with us when we are gathered. And our relationships with each other helps us live out our relationship with Jesus AND strengthens that relationship as we see God in and learn about God through one another.
And then we took a week intermission with a fabulous guest preacher and now we’re following the natural progression of the series which leads us to: “Inviting To: A Relationship with the World.”
Now, some Christians (or really, any sect of any religion or sort) like to paint themselves as “us against the World.” World - Us. This mindset really creates a false dichotomy of sacred versus secular where in order to embrace the sacred, we have to reject all that is secular…and that’s simply not how any of this works. The world and our lives and our faith are not as black and white as any would like us to think. There is a lot of gray, a lot of blurring lines, a lot of overlap between what would traditionally be called sacred and what would be called secular. Now there are “things of this world” that truly are not of God. In our Baptismal vows we promise to reject evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves! And that’s important to reject those - AND there are things, quote on quote, “of this world” - secular rather than obviously sacred, if you will, that we would do better to open our eyes and hearts, and see God in, to blur the lines, to let sacred and secular overlap and see how God is in all the world, even places we might not have thought to first look.
Okay, okay - I don’t want to go too much into this tangent cause it really is a whole other sermon AND as Christians, it’s time to think of not “us versus the world,” or “us or the world,” or even “us and the world” - we need to think of “us WITH the world.”
As a relationship with Jesus necessitates a relationship with other Christians, relationships with Jesus and other Christians necessitate, and even naturally progress, to a relationship with the world.
Matthew 25 is probably *the* prime example of how we are called to be in relationship with the world. We are in relationship with Jesus in this world with how we react to the pain, hurt, and suffering of the world. We are only so much in relationship with Jesus as we are in relationship with those experiencing the brokenness of this world. Matthew 25 specifically lifts up how we are in relationship with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked (the have-nots, if you will), the sick, and the prisoner.
And that should really give us pause. As a word of indictment against those who claim the name of Jesus in our country, I often think we should be so much more collectively horrified with how our systems treat those in need. The hungry that are ridiculed. The thirsty who cannot get clean water. The strangers who are turned away. The poor who are criminalized. The sick who are saddled with debt and the prisoners who are dehumanized and profited off of. According to Jesus in Matthew 25, how we treat the least of these are how we treat Jesus himself. How we are in a relationship with Jesus. Collectively, as a whole, it’s not looking good for us when it comes to the separating of the sheep and the goats.
Again, a slight tangent there.
But when we seriously look at Matthew 25, we see that a relationship with Jesus doesn’t just necessitate a relationship with the world - a relationship with Jesus IS a relationship with the world - a relationship WITH the least of these: the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned. A relationship WITH them IS a relationship with Jesus. To fully be the body of Christ with and for the world, we are called upon as the whole body of Christ, in relationship with each other as Christians, to show the abiding love of Jesus to the world.
Looking out at the world and seeing the hurt and brokenness is where we are invited to live out our relationship with Jesus as we partner together to be co-creators of God’s Kingdom here on earth. And it’s not so much that we are holding something we disperse upon the world, like we’re removed from it or above it… but that the hurt we see around us draws our hearts to engage because we love Jesus so much.
I know I’ve said this before and it bears saying again: love of Jesus and love of neighbor are flip sides of the same coin. Love of Jesus pushes us out to love those in pain and those who need love. How we experience God in our neighbors then pushes us back to further love of God.
Another illustration is the Wesleyan Means of Grace and the cross.
So picture the vertical line of the cross, okay - up and down. This line is vertical cause it directs us “up” - if you will, toward God. And it’s made up of both individual acts of piety: these are things like prayer, reading the Bible, devotions, meditations AND communal acts of worship: and these are things like, well, worship, Holy Communion, Baptism, singing hymns together. So as an individual and as a community, we are oriented toward God.
But this isn’t a cross - it’s just one line.
So then comes the horizontal line. And this line is horizontal cause it directs us out, toward each other. And this line is comprised of both individual acts of charity: these are things like generosity, serving at a food kitchen, doing good works AND communal acts of justice and these are things like working toward systemic change and freeing of the oppressed - a classic example we use is how Wesley spent the latter part of his life speaking out against the slave trade.
Okay so you have a vertical line that, individually and communally, directs us toward God. And you have a horizontal line that, individually and communally, directs us toward each other. They’re just two lines, not the whole picture. And when you put these two lines together you get: the cross, the Gospel, the full picture of Jesus and what it means to live out our faith: love of God and love of neighbor as self.
And so, to invite into a relationship with the world is to not only invite those who are already in a relationships with Jesus and the church to see Jesus in the brokenness of the world and then to BE Jesus in the midst of that brokenness - to invite into a relationship with the world is also our biggest way to invite others to know Jesus. For those who are used to “us versus the world” instead of “us with the world” this may seem counterintuitive. Yet the early church didn’t grow because of the right doctrine or amazing worship services or family friendly programming or even because of ice cream socials. The early church grew because of the radical way they showed up and showed love to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned.
As the favorite hymn goes:
“They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
May we love God and love the world.
Amen.
“Inviting To: A Relationship with the World”
Preached Sunday, August 28, 2022
We are now halfway through a 4 part sermon series called “Inviting To: A Relationship with…” This sermon series is laying the foundation for living out our 2022-2023 vision goal which we just kicked off at the beginning of this month and is already well-underway. That vision goal is: In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted.
And so, welcome to those who are here today by invitation! We’re so glad you’re here and yes, the rumors are true, there will be ice cream right after the service.
But back to the sermon series - we started by talking about “Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus.” A relationship with Jesus means abiding in God’s loving, knowing and feeling that you always have a home in Jesus where you are deeply known and deeply loved, just as you are.
Then, we moved on to “Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians.” A Relationship with Christians means that we who claim the name of Jesus belong to one another - we need each other to be the full body of Christ in this world. And through being the body of Christ together, we know God is with us when we are gathered. And our relationships with each other helps us live out our relationship with Jesus AND strengthens that relationship as we see God in and learn about God through one another.
And then we took a week intermission with a fabulous guest preacher and now we’re following the natural progression of the series which leads us to: “Inviting To: A Relationship with the World.”
Now, some Christians (or really, any sect of any religion or sort) like to paint themselves as “us against the World.” World - Us. This mindset really creates a false dichotomy of sacred versus secular where in order to embrace the sacred, we have to reject all that is secular…and that’s simply not how any of this works. The world and our lives and our faith are not as black and white as any would like us to think. There is a lot of gray, a lot of blurring lines, a lot of overlap between what would traditionally be called sacred and what would be called secular. Now there are “things of this world” that truly are not of God. In our Baptismal vows we promise to reject evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves! And that’s important to reject those - AND there are things, quote on quote, “of this world” - secular rather than obviously sacred, if you will, that we would do better to open our eyes and hearts, and see God in, to blur the lines, to let sacred and secular overlap and see how God is in all the world, even places we might not have thought to first look.
Okay, okay - I don’t want to go too much into this tangent cause it really is a whole other sermon AND as Christians, it’s time to think of not “us versus the world,” or “us or the world,” or even “us and the world” - we need to think of “us WITH the world.”
As a relationship with Jesus necessitates a relationship with other Christians, relationships with Jesus and other Christians necessitate, and even naturally progress, to a relationship with the world.
Matthew 25 is probably *the* prime example of how we are called to be in relationship with the world. We are in relationship with Jesus in this world with how we react to the pain, hurt, and suffering of the world. We are only so much in relationship with Jesus as we are in relationship with those experiencing the brokenness of this world. Matthew 25 specifically lifts up how we are in relationship with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked (the have-nots, if you will), the sick, and the prisoner.
And that should really give us pause. As a word of indictment against those who claim the name of Jesus in our country, I often think we should be so much more collectively horrified with how our systems treat those in need. The hungry that are ridiculed. The thirsty who cannot get clean water. The strangers who are turned away. The poor who are criminalized. The sick who are saddled with debt and the prisoners who are dehumanized and profited off of. According to Jesus in Matthew 25, how we treat the least of these are how we treat Jesus himself. How we are in a relationship with Jesus. Collectively, as a whole, it’s not looking good for us when it comes to the separating of the sheep and the goats.
Again, a slight tangent there.
But when we seriously look at Matthew 25, we see that a relationship with Jesus doesn’t just necessitate a relationship with the world - a relationship with Jesus IS a relationship with the world - a relationship WITH the least of these: the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned. A relationship WITH them IS a relationship with Jesus. To fully be the body of Christ with and for the world, we are called upon as the whole body of Christ, in relationship with each other as Christians, to show the abiding love of Jesus to the world.
Looking out at the world and seeing the hurt and brokenness is where we are invited to live out our relationship with Jesus as we partner together to be co-creators of God’s Kingdom here on earth. And it’s not so much that we are holding something we disperse upon the world, like we’re removed from it or above it… but that the hurt we see around us draws our hearts to engage because we love Jesus so much.
I know I’ve said this before and it bears saying again: love of Jesus and love of neighbor are flip sides of the same coin. Love of Jesus pushes us out to love those in pain and those who need love. How we experience God in our neighbors then pushes us back to further love of God.
Another illustration is the Wesleyan Means of Grace and the cross.
So picture the vertical line of the cross, okay - up and down. This line is vertical cause it directs us “up” - if you will, toward God. And it’s made up of both individual acts of piety: these are things like prayer, reading the Bible, devotions, meditations AND communal acts of worship: and these are things like, well, worship, Holy Communion, Baptism, singing hymns together. So as an individual and as a community, we are oriented toward God.
But this isn’t a cross - it’s just one line.
So then comes the horizontal line. And this line is horizontal cause it directs us out, toward each other. And this line is comprised of both individual acts of charity: these are things like generosity, serving at a food kitchen, doing good works AND communal acts of justice and these are things like working toward systemic change and freeing of the oppressed - a classic example we use is how Wesley spent the latter part of his life speaking out against the slave trade.
Okay so you have a vertical line that, individually and communally, directs us toward God. And you have a horizontal line that, individually and communally, directs us toward each other. They’re just two lines, not the whole picture. And when you put these two lines together you get: the cross, the Gospel, the full picture of Jesus and what it means to live out our faith: love of God and love of neighbor as self.
And so, to invite into a relationship with the world is to not only invite those who are already in a relationships with Jesus and the church to see Jesus in the brokenness of the world and then to BE Jesus in the midst of that brokenness - to invite into a relationship with the world is also our biggest way to invite others to know Jesus. For those who are used to “us versus the world” instead of “us with the world” this may seem counterintuitive. Yet the early church didn’t grow because of the right doctrine or amazing worship services or family friendly programming or even because of ice cream socials. The early church grew because of the radical way they showed up and showed love to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned.
As the favorite hymn goes:
“They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
May we love God and love the world.
Amen.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
"Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians" a sermon on Romans 12:3-21
Romans 12:3-21
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians”
Preached Sunday, August 14, 2022
We’re in our second week of our sermon series surrounding our new vision goal which is “In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted.” And so we’re laying the foundation for that goal to be a success with a sermon series on “Inviting To: A Relationship with…” Last week we talked about “Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus.”
And we started off talking about how, to some people, they may have some baggage surrounding the phrase “Relationship with Jesus” therefore we need to show and tell with our actions and words how having a relationship with Jesus is not about passing some litmus test but about abiding in God’s love. Abiding in God’s love means always having a home in and with God where you are deeply known and loved, no matter what. And that moves us to live out Jesus’s commandment to love one another as he loves us.
And I hate to break it to you, but if “A Relationship with Jesus” carried some baggage for people based on their age or experiences ....”A Relationship with Christians”!? Oh boy. This is like the conveyor belt at an airport after several fully booked lights just came in: full of baggage.
There is a reason so many know that infamous quote attributed to Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I do know that some people question if this quote really is from Gandhi but the fact that it’s so prevalent and quoted so often means that it resonates with people, it strikes a chord as true within them.
Now, this quote is coming from someone outside of Christianity so it is often dismissed by critics as such. But isn’t that, uh….kind of the point? If Christians only looked good to Christians…there would be no new Christians. The thing is, Christianity and Christians don’t even always look good to other Christians.
The Rev. E. Heath talks about this in the book “Glorify: Reclaiming the Heart of Progressive Christianity.” Heath says that Christians “have a bit of a public relations problem.” I would likely say, it’s more than a bit. To sum up this problem Heath says, “It’s no wonder that many people think Christians are judgmental, antigay, anti-women, antichoice, antiscience extremists. So much of that they have experienced in church has been just that.
Even if people have not experienced it themselves, they have heard about it on the news. When talk shows want someone to offer ‘the Christian perspective’ they far too often call up someone with extremist views who will make for good television.”
And it is often the most extreme that defines the Christian narrative, our public relations if you will, to the rest of the world and non-Christians.
And I know good, God-loving, neighbor-loving Christians, followers of Jesus, filled with love for God and love for the Church and love for the world…who no longer want to claim the name Christians. Multiple people like this. And it’s not that they want to leave the faith or even necessarily leave the church, although people do both because of our PR problem - or beyond the PR, really just how other people, claiming the same God and same title as them, Christians, act toward others. And these Christians are asking: Do I really want to be lumped in with people who call themselves Christians but are not Christlike? Christlike meaning showing love of God and love of neighbor. And so they question, how much can I really be a part of this whole Christian and Christianity thing? How much can I call myself a Christian? And how much do I want to be in relationships with other Christians? And I do think these are valid questions to be asking and discerning, given the current state of the perception of Christians and Christianity.
Heath continues, however, to say that the PR problem with Christianity doesn’t just come from those with extremist views that aren’t Christlike and lacking love of neighbor, our PR problem comes from Christians who are striving to live out God’s commands to love God and to love neighbor but hide their light under a bushel.
Y'all know what I mean by that phrase? Matthew 5:14-16: “‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’” Or, you may know it from “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine! Hid it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”
But as Heath says, “We may also be asked to explain our beliefs to incredulous others, and sometimes we find the questioner already believes they know what we will say. Explaining the nuances of faith to a critical acquaintance at a dinner party can be a losing proposition from the start. Sometimes it feels much easier to keep quiet, and ask someone to pass the potatoes.”
Or, moreover, when we do talk about our faith, we do so with apologetics. “Yes, I am Christian BUT NOT LIKE THAT” or “I’m Christian but not THAT kind of Christian.” Talking about our identity in Christ this way actually still lets that less-than tolerant, judgmental and extremist version of Christianity to have center stage because we define ourselves as NOT them. Now, if people are looking for meaning-making in their life, if they’re looking for something to fill a void within themselves, there are plenty of options that are NOT that. Take your pick. And no one is gonna pick something that has the same name as that but hasn’t defined itself in any positive way apart from that.
Do you follow me? Saying “I am a Christian but not /that/ kind of Christian” doesn’t tell others what kind of Christian you actually are and why YOUR Christianity is worth being a part of. And why YOUR Christ is worth following.
It’s time that Christians who strive to be Christlike, to love God and to love neighbor as themselves, started defining ourselves in a positive way. To say: I am a Christian because I love God and ever strive to love my neighbor as myself. To say: I am a Christian because I believe that Love is greater than any force in this world, including death. And even to say, I am a Christian because of my relationships with other Christians who have shown me the love of Christ. Romans 12 is a great example of what it means to BE a Christian.
Romans 12 says that Christians:
Love genuinely
Hate what is evil
Hold fast to what is good
Love one another with mutual affection
Out-do one another in honor
Are enthusiastic about serving the Lord together
Have hope
Practice patience
Care for our neighbors, strangers, ALL
Don’t curse those who are against us
Actually, BLESS those who against us
Rejoice with those who are rejoicing
Weep with those who weep
Live in harmony
Aren’t haughty
Hang out with the least of these
Don’t think you’re smarter than you are
Show respect for the common good
Don’t repay evil with evil
And as best as we can, live peacefully with all others
Living in that way is the mark of Christians who follow Jesus. It is our light that we cannot hide under a bushel but need to share with the world. So that others will see the light and want to be in relationship not only with Jesus who invites us to abide in his love, but with other Christians who seek to love God and love neighbor together.
Cause the fact is, it’s not just about a relationship with Jesus - although that’s obviously central, it’s also about a relationship with other Christians. We aren’t meant to do this alone. As Paul says in today’s reading: “we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” The more famous explanation of being the body of Christ together comes from 1 Corinthians 12:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’”
We need each other to be the full body of Christ. We cannot do it alone. “It” being living out the love of Christ in this world for the whole world. This is why last Sunday I brought up the phrase, “it’s about a relationship, not a religion” and said it doesn’t paint the whole picture, cause it’s both. A relationship with Jesus is necessitates a relationship with other Christians, i.e. religion.
The Rev. Lillian Daniel, author of “When ‘Spiritual But Not Religious’ Isn’t Enough” says, “Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn't interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff or, heaven forbid, disagree with you. When life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig deeply into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself.”
She also says - and her words, not mine, not calling anyone an idiot here but she says, “Any idiot can find God alone in the sunset. It takes a certain maturity to find God in the person sitting next to you who not only voted for the wrong political party but has a baby who is crying while you’re trying to listen to the sermon.”
And that’s really, the miracle that happens when you are a part of a religious community, a church, in relationship with other Christians, we begin to see God in each other, in messy, flawed humans who don’t always get it right and we may not always agree with but we’re still trying our best to love God and to love neighbor, together.
And at Grace, I believe, we have found that to be true. We do know that God is here and we find God in each other - wherever two or three are gathered, God is there! And we have all experienced God in one another. We see God in how we come together to offer support to each other, love and service to the world…and yes, even in how we challenge one another and propel each other on to better love of neighbor.
We are striving to live out those marks of a Christian from Romans 12 - to let our light shine to the world by loving genuinely, holding fast to what is good, blessing all, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. And through doing that, boldly and positively claiming the name of Christian in this world and inviting others to be in relationship with the God who is Love and with us, Christians who strive to live out that love.
If we have a PR problem, it's up to us to change that. Here at Grace we are "a joyous and caring Christian community.” It is not just part of our mission statement, it’s truly who we are. And we need to show that to the world, to tell others how we love genuinely, how we care for each other and care for the least of these, and let our light shine… and invite others, invite all, to be a part of it - and they might just be surprised at how loving and how good it is to be part of the church, to be in relationship with Jesus and with Christians.
Amen.
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians”
Preached Sunday, August 14, 2022
We’re in our second week of our sermon series surrounding our new vision goal which is “In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted.” And so we’re laying the foundation for that goal to be a success with a sermon series on “Inviting To: A Relationship with…” Last week we talked about “Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus.”
And we started off talking about how, to some people, they may have some baggage surrounding the phrase “Relationship with Jesus” therefore we need to show and tell with our actions and words how having a relationship with Jesus is not about passing some litmus test but about abiding in God’s love. Abiding in God’s love means always having a home in and with God where you are deeply known and loved, no matter what. And that moves us to live out Jesus’s commandment to love one another as he loves us.
And I hate to break it to you, but if “A Relationship with Jesus” carried some baggage for people based on their age or experiences ....”A Relationship with Christians”!? Oh boy. This is like the conveyor belt at an airport after several fully booked lights just came in: full of baggage.
There is a reason so many know that infamous quote attributed to Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I do know that some people question if this quote really is from Gandhi but the fact that it’s so prevalent and quoted so often means that it resonates with people, it strikes a chord as true within them.
Now, this quote is coming from someone outside of Christianity so it is often dismissed by critics as such. But isn’t that, uh….kind of the point? If Christians only looked good to Christians…there would be no new Christians. The thing is, Christianity and Christians don’t even always look good to other Christians.
The Rev. E. Heath talks about this in the book “Glorify: Reclaiming the Heart of Progressive Christianity.” Heath says that Christians “have a bit of a public relations problem.” I would likely say, it’s more than a bit. To sum up this problem Heath says, “It’s no wonder that many people think Christians are judgmental, antigay, anti-women, antichoice, antiscience extremists. So much of that they have experienced in church has been just that.
Even if people have not experienced it themselves, they have heard about it on the news. When talk shows want someone to offer ‘the Christian perspective’ they far too often call up someone with extremist views who will make for good television.”
And it is often the most extreme that defines the Christian narrative, our public relations if you will, to the rest of the world and non-Christians.
And I know good, God-loving, neighbor-loving Christians, followers of Jesus, filled with love for God and love for the Church and love for the world…who no longer want to claim the name Christians. Multiple people like this. And it’s not that they want to leave the faith or even necessarily leave the church, although people do both because of our PR problem - or beyond the PR, really just how other people, claiming the same God and same title as them, Christians, act toward others. And these Christians are asking: Do I really want to be lumped in with people who call themselves Christians but are not Christlike? Christlike meaning showing love of God and love of neighbor. And so they question, how much can I really be a part of this whole Christian and Christianity thing? How much can I call myself a Christian? And how much do I want to be in relationships with other Christians? And I do think these are valid questions to be asking and discerning, given the current state of the perception of Christians and Christianity.
Heath continues, however, to say that the PR problem with Christianity doesn’t just come from those with extremist views that aren’t Christlike and lacking love of neighbor, our PR problem comes from Christians who are striving to live out God’s commands to love God and to love neighbor but hide their light under a bushel.
Y'all know what I mean by that phrase? Matthew 5:14-16: “‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’” Or, you may know it from “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine! Hid it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”
But as Heath says, “We may also be asked to explain our beliefs to incredulous others, and sometimes we find the questioner already believes they know what we will say. Explaining the nuances of faith to a critical acquaintance at a dinner party can be a losing proposition from the start. Sometimes it feels much easier to keep quiet, and ask someone to pass the potatoes.”
Or, moreover, when we do talk about our faith, we do so with apologetics. “Yes, I am Christian BUT NOT LIKE THAT” or “I’m Christian but not THAT kind of Christian.” Talking about our identity in Christ this way actually still lets that less-than tolerant, judgmental and extremist version of Christianity to have center stage because we define ourselves as NOT them. Now, if people are looking for meaning-making in their life, if they’re looking for something to fill a void within themselves, there are plenty of options that are NOT that. Take your pick. And no one is gonna pick something that has the same name as that but hasn’t defined itself in any positive way apart from that.
Do you follow me? Saying “I am a Christian but not /that/ kind of Christian” doesn’t tell others what kind of Christian you actually are and why YOUR Christianity is worth being a part of. And why YOUR Christ is worth following.
It’s time that Christians who strive to be Christlike, to love God and to love neighbor as themselves, started defining ourselves in a positive way. To say: I am a Christian because I love God and ever strive to love my neighbor as myself. To say: I am a Christian because I believe that Love is greater than any force in this world, including death. And even to say, I am a Christian because of my relationships with other Christians who have shown me the love of Christ. Romans 12 is a great example of what it means to BE a Christian.
Romans 12 says that Christians:
Love genuinely
Hate what is evil
Hold fast to what is good
Love one another with mutual affection
Out-do one another in honor
Are enthusiastic about serving the Lord together
Have hope
Practice patience
Care for our neighbors, strangers, ALL
Don’t curse those who are against us
Actually, BLESS those who against us
Rejoice with those who are rejoicing
Weep with those who weep
Live in harmony
Aren’t haughty
Hang out with the least of these
Don’t think you’re smarter than you are
Show respect for the common good
Don’t repay evil with evil
And as best as we can, live peacefully with all others
Living in that way is the mark of Christians who follow Jesus. It is our light that we cannot hide under a bushel but need to share with the world. So that others will see the light and want to be in relationship not only with Jesus who invites us to abide in his love, but with other Christians who seek to love God and love neighbor together.
Cause the fact is, it’s not just about a relationship with Jesus - although that’s obviously central, it’s also about a relationship with other Christians. We aren’t meant to do this alone. As Paul says in today’s reading: “we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” The more famous explanation of being the body of Christ together comes from 1 Corinthians 12:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’”
We need each other to be the full body of Christ. We cannot do it alone. “It” being living out the love of Christ in this world for the whole world. This is why last Sunday I brought up the phrase, “it’s about a relationship, not a religion” and said it doesn’t paint the whole picture, cause it’s both. A relationship with Jesus is necessitates a relationship with other Christians, i.e. religion.
The Rev. Lillian Daniel, author of “When ‘Spiritual But Not Religious’ Isn’t Enough” says, “Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn't interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff or, heaven forbid, disagree with you. When life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig deeply into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself.”
She also says - and her words, not mine, not calling anyone an idiot here but she says, “Any idiot can find God alone in the sunset. It takes a certain maturity to find God in the person sitting next to you who not only voted for the wrong political party but has a baby who is crying while you’re trying to listen to the sermon.”
And that’s really, the miracle that happens when you are a part of a religious community, a church, in relationship with other Christians, we begin to see God in each other, in messy, flawed humans who don’t always get it right and we may not always agree with but we’re still trying our best to love God and to love neighbor, together.
And at Grace, I believe, we have found that to be true. We do know that God is here and we find God in each other - wherever two or three are gathered, God is there! And we have all experienced God in one another. We see God in how we come together to offer support to each other, love and service to the world…and yes, even in how we challenge one another and propel each other on to better love of neighbor.
We are striving to live out those marks of a Christian from Romans 12 - to let our light shine to the world by loving genuinely, holding fast to what is good, blessing all, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. And through doing that, boldly and positively claiming the name of Christian in this world and inviting others to be in relationship with the God who is Love and with us, Christians who strive to live out that love.
If we have a PR problem, it's up to us to change that. Here at Grace we are "a joyous and caring Christian community.” It is not just part of our mission statement, it’s truly who we are. And we need to show that to the world, to tell others how we love genuinely, how we care for each other and care for the least of these, and let our light shine… and invite others, invite all, to be a part of it - and they might just be surprised at how loving and how good it is to be part of the church, to be in relationship with Jesus and with Christians.
Amen.
Monday, August 8, 2022
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus” a sermon on John 15:9-17
John 15:9-17
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus”
Preached Sunday, August 7, 2022
You just heard about our vision goal and I hope and pray that you are JUST as excited about it as I and the rest of our vision team are. And today is the start of a 4 week sermon series that will be a good foundation as we consider how to best live out our goal of 500 invitations extended.
So today’s theme is “Inviting to: A Relationship with Jesus.” The subsequent weeks will be:
“Inviting to: A Relationship with Christians”
“Inviting to: A Relationship with the World”
"Inviting to: A Relationship with Grace”
Jesus is first - makes sense as Jesus is the foundation of all that we believe and do as Christians.
And so this week, as I prepared for this sermon, I kept on turning over a question in my mind. The question: What does it mean to have a relationship with Jesus?
Now, some of the first things that popped into my mind when considering this question and the phrase “relationship with Jesus” were actually negative connotations and some baggage around this phrase. And let me be clear upfront, there is nothing inherently wrong with the following associations whether they are negative or positive associations for you. It has more to do with how these associations and this phrase have been weaponized in certain Christian circles.
So for me the first thing that popped into my head around the phrase “relationship with Jesus” was “It’s about a relationship - not a religion.” Or some variation of that phrase which I am sure many of you have heard. For some people, they really dig this phrase. For me I’ve seen how it’s been used against people in certain denominations or how it’s used to kind of avoid accountability if one has been acting less than Christ-like…And really, for me it’s about relationship AND religion. Hand-in-hand…but more on that some other time.
And the second negative association with some baggage that popped into my head was the phrase “inviting Jesus into your heart” and the Sinner’s Prayer. Do you all know what I mean when I say that? In some traditions there is this little prayer that is supposed to recognize that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and recognizes that Jesus is God and invites him into your heart to start your life anew as a Christian. Now, its intent, I believe, is kind of “how to take that first step” to start a relationship with Jesus. But my baggage around it is that it’s been used as a litmus test or a hurdle to pass in order to prove whether you’re a “real” Christian. Some people have even been forced, coerced, guilted or shamed into praying it. And while it may be a helpful tool for some on their journey with Jesus, it’s completely unnecessary for many. For many if you’re at the point where you would pray those words and mean them - well, you’re already in relationship with Jesus. And you know, as Methodists we believe in something called prevenient grace meaning God’s grace is ALWAYS there and ALWAYS being extended to you by the God who knew you before you were formed in the womb…so you know, we all already have a relationship with Jesus. And we do infant baptisms that recognize how God is present in someone’s life before they even know it…
ANYWAY, you can tell I got baggage but this sermon isn’t the place to unpack it! The things is, if I, an ordained Christian minister who LOVES Jesus and LOVES the church has some negative connotations and baggage with these phrases and the associations with the phrase “relationship with Jesus” - think about how much more someone who has left the church or been hurt by the church or is even just on the outside looking in can have with these phrases!
So today we really need to look at the phrase “relationship with Jesus” and think about the positive associations, those that are good and loving and meaningful and life-changing! So that we can share those associations with the world.
So what does it mean to be in a relationship with Jesus?
Scripture, hymns, and Christians liturgy often uses relationships metaphors to talk about Jesus. For example and these all come from Scripture and our Christian tradition:
Jesus as Brother.
Jesus as Groom.
Jesus as Lover.
Jesus as Friend.
AND, Jesus as a member of the Trinity - and where one member of the Trinity is, in their perfect one-ness, they all are.
So it’s also fair to consider Jesus as Father, Mother, Parent, and Sister - common relationship metaphors used for the other members of the Trinity.
Relationship metaphors as names for Jesus are apt because Jesus is a member of the Triune God who IS relationship - each member of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is in such perfect relationship within themselves that they are one. And it is through Jesus that we are invited into this perfect relationship with the Triune God.
So basically, any relationship that reflects God’s relationship and that is, any relationship that is loving, warm, safe - that relationship can be used as a metaphor for our relationship with Jesus.
So in a healthy relationship that we know through our earthly relations, in those relationships, we love and know that we are loved. And that’s really what a relationship boils down to. To have a relationship with Jesus is to love God and to know that you are loved. But a step beyond our relationships that we know in this life, to have a relationship with Jesus is to have a relationship with Love. Not just a loving relationship, right? But a relationship with the One who IS Love. And it is knowing you are loved no matter what - it’s not conditional on our love. That’s one of my favorite parts of our full, traditional communion liturgy: “When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.”
Turning to our Gospel lesson we read today: to have a relationship with Jesus is to abide in Jesus. To abide in Jesus is to abide in his love: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”
Abide means to live, to dwell. The first part of this chapter of Scripture talks about the grape that grows on the vine. The grape abides on the vine. Another place we see this in Scripture is what many of us have heard as “mansions” in John 14, a Scripture that is often read at funerals. “In my father’s house there are many mansions/rooms….abiding places.” Abiding with God means to live in the presence of God, with God. The Rev. Meda Stamper defines abiding places as “places where one is deeply at home.” Perhaps that’s what it means to have a relationship with Jesus - to be deeply at home with Jesus.
Now, the ideal home, like the ideal relationship, is somewhere or with someone or someones, where you feel safe and loved for exactly who you are.
On a very simple level, I think of how as soon as I get home, I throw on pajama pants or sweats and put my hair up in a messy bun. When I’m at home and done for the day, I want to be comfy. But it’s beyond a superficial bodily comfy, it’s a place of comfort because I know it’s a place where I am safe to let my guard down. There are no thoughts of “what will people think.” There is no need to look or act a certain way. It’s just me - as I am. And I know that I am with people who love me for just me, as I am. Literal and metaphorical messy buns and all.
Now, not all houses and not all relationships are places of safety, acceptance, and love. And we lament that. Remember, the earthly relationships and homes we use as a metaphor for a relationship with Jesus are just that - metaphors. They aren’t perfect and they’ll resonate differently for different people.
And, given all this, we can say that abiding in Jesus is having a home in God - a home that, wherever you find yourself, whatever situation you’re in - you still have a home where you know you are in the loving hands of God.
Now, abiding in Jesus, while it can give us warm, fuzzy feelings, is not a cocoon where the rest of the world is shut out. It’s not a mansion with gates or even a private residence! Jesus says this: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Given all this, let’s now bring in our mission at Grace (“to invite all into a joyous and caring Christian community”) and our new vision goal (In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted).
In order to invite others into a relationship with Jesus, we first need to abide in Jesus. When we abide in Jesus, individually and collectively, our joy is made complete and we love one another. Hmmm…does that sound like “a joyous and caring Christian community” to you? And we need to abide in Jesus FIRST so that others can see how we abide in the love of God. And when we then invite them into a relationship with us, into a relationship with you, they will learn of God’s love through you as you live out God’s command to love one another.
Now, a popular quote among many Christians is attributed to St. Francis and goes something like this, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”
And I need to tell you that in our day and age, it is VERY necessary to use words ALONG with our actions that preach the Gospel at all times. Because there is a lot of baggage and preconceived notions about what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus out there. And that baggage and preconceived notions require that ALL our actions AND ALL our words AND ALL our love show the whole world that those negative things aren’t what being in a relationship with Jesus is about. Instead we need to show them our Love - a love that comes from abiding in the one who is Love. To show ALL that a relationship with Jesus, an abiding relationship with Jesus, means always having a place where you are deeply at home and deeply loved by the God who is love.
My prayer for all of us today is that we may abide in Christ. That we may live out his commandment to love others, And that we may invite all, using our actions and words, so that all may come to know God’s abiding love.
Amen.
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus”
Preached Sunday, August 7, 2022
You just heard about our vision goal and I hope and pray that you are JUST as excited about it as I and the rest of our vision team are. And today is the start of a 4 week sermon series that will be a good foundation as we consider how to best live out our goal of 500 invitations extended.
So today’s theme is “Inviting to: A Relationship with Jesus.” The subsequent weeks will be:
“Inviting to: A Relationship with Christians”
“Inviting to: A Relationship with the World”
"Inviting to: A Relationship with Grace”
Jesus is first - makes sense as Jesus is the foundation of all that we believe and do as Christians.
And so this week, as I prepared for this sermon, I kept on turning over a question in my mind. The question: What does it mean to have a relationship with Jesus?
Now, some of the first things that popped into my mind when considering this question and the phrase “relationship with Jesus” were actually negative connotations and some baggage around this phrase. And let me be clear upfront, there is nothing inherently wrong with the following associations whether they are negative or positive associations for you. It has more to do with how these associations and this phrase have been weaponized in certain Christian circles.
So for me the first thing that popped into my head around the phrase “relationship with Jesus” was “It’s about a relationship - not a religion.” Or some variation of that phrase which I am sure many of you have heard. For some people, they really dig this phrase. For me I’ve seen how it’s been used against people in certain denominations or how it’s used to kind of avoid accountability if one has been acting less than Christ-like…And really, for me it’s about relationship AND religion. Hand-in-hand…but more on that some other time.
And the second negative association with some baggage that popped into my head was the phrase “inviting Jesus into your heart” and the Sinner’s Prayer. Do you all know what I mean when I say that? In some traditions there is this little prayer that is supposed to recognize that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and recognizes that Jesus is God and invites him into your heart to start your life anew as a Christian. Now, its intent, I believe, is kind of “how to take that first step” to start a relationship with Jesus. But my baggage around it is that it’s been used as a litmus test or a hurdle to pass in order to prove whether you’re a “real” Christian. Some people have even been forced, coerced, guilted or shamed into praying it. And while it may be a helpful tool for some on their journey with Jesus, it’s completely unnecessary for many. For many if you’re at the point where you would pray those words and mean them - well, you’re already in relationship with Jesus. And you know, as Methodists we believe in something called prevenient grace meaning God’s grace is ALWAYS there and ALWAYS being extended to you by the God who knew you before you were formed in the womb…so you know, we all already have a relationship with Jesus. And we do infant baptisms that recognize how God is present in someone’s life before they even know it…
ANYWAY, you can tell I got baggage but this sermon isn’t the place to unpack it! The things is, if I, an ordained Christian minister who LOVES Jesus and LOVES the church has some negative connotations and baggage with these phrases and the associations with the phrase “relationship with Jesus” - think about how much more someone who has left the church or been hurt by the church or is even just on the outside looking in can have with these phrases!
So today we really need to look at the phrase “relationship with Jesus” and think about the positive associations, those that are good and loving and meaningful and life-changing! So that we can share those associations with the world.
So what does it mean to be in a relationship with Jesus?
Scripture, hymns, and Christians liturgy often uses relationships metaphors to talk about Jesus. For example and these all come from Scripture and our Christian tradition:
Jesus as Brother.
Jesus as Groom.
Jesus as Lover.
Jesus as Friend.
AND, Jesus as a member of the Trinity - and where one member of the Trinity is, in their perfect one-ness, they all are.
So it’s also fair to consider Jesus as Father, Mother, Parent, and Sister - common relationship metaphors used for the other members of the Trinity.
Relationship metaphors as names for Jesus are apt because Jesus is a member of the Triune God who IS relationship - each member of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is in such perfect relationship within themselves that they are one. And it is through Jesus that we are invited into this perfect relationship with the Triune God.
So basically, any relationship that reflects God’s relationship and that is, any relationship that is loving, warm, safe - that relationship can be used as a metaphor for our relationship with Jesus.
So in a healthy relationship that we know through our earthly relations, in those relationships, we love and know that we are loved. And that’s really what a relationship boils down to. To have a relationship with Jesus is to love God and to know that you are loved. But a step beyond our relationships that we know in this life, to have a relationship with Jesus is to have a relationship with Love. Not just a loving relationship, right? But a relationship with the One who IS Love. And it is knowing you are loved no matter what - it’s not conditional on our love. That’s one of my favorite parts of our full, traditional communion liturgy: “When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.”
Turning to our Gospel lesson we read today: to have a relationship with Jesus is to abide in Jesus. To abide in Jesus is to abide in his love: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”
Abide means to live, to dwell. The first part of this chapter of Scripture talks about the grape that grows on the vine. The grape abides on the vine. Another place we see this in Scripture is what many of us have heard as “mansions” in John 14, a Scripture that is often read at funerals. “In my father’s house there are many mansions/rooms….abiding places.” Abiding with God means to live in the presence of God, with God. The Rev. Meda Stamper defines abiding places as “places where one is deeply at home.” Perhaps that’s what it means to have a relationship with Jesus - to be deeply at home with Jesus.
Now, the ideal home, like the ideal relationship, is somewhere or with someone or someones, where you feel safe and loved for exactly who you are.
On a very simple level, I think of how as soon as I get home, I throw on pajama pants or sweats and put my hair up in a messy bun. When I’m at home and done for the day, I want to be comfy. But it’s beyond a superficial bodily comfy, it’s a place of comfort because I know it’s a place where I am safe to let my guard down. There are no thoughts of “what will people think.” There is no need to look or act a certain way. It’s just me - as I am. And I know that I am with people who love me for just me, as I am. Literal and metaphorical messy buns and all.
Now, not all houses and not all relationships are places of safety, acceptance, and love. And we lament that. Remember, the earthly relationships and homes we use as a metaphor for a relationship with Jesus are just that - metaphors. They aren’t perfect and they’ll resonate differently for different people.
And, given all this, we can say that abiding in Jesus is having a home in God - a home that, wherever you find yourself, whatever situation you’re in - you still have a home where you know you are in the loving hands of God.
Now, abiding in Jesus, while it can give us warm, fuzzy feelings, is not a cocoon where the rest of the world is shut out. It’s not a mansion with gates or even a private residence! Jesus says this: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love…This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Given all this, let’s now bring in our mission at Grace (“to invite all into a joyous and caring Christian community”) and our new vision goal (In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted).
In order to invite others into a relationship with Jesus, we first need to abide in Jesus. When we abide in Jesus, individually and collectively, our joy is made complete and we love one another. Hmmm…does that sound like “a joyous and caring Christian community” to you? And we need to abide in Jesus FIRST so that others can see how we abide in the love of God. And when we then invite them into a relationship with us, into a relationship with you, they will learn of God’s love through you as you live out God’s command to love one another.
Now, a popular quote among many Christians is attributed to St. Francis and goes something like this, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”
And I need to tell you that in our day and age, it is VERY necessary to use words ALONG with our actions that preach the Gospel at all times. Because there is a lot of baggage and preconceived notions about what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus out there. And that baggage and preconceived notions require that ALL our actions AND ALL our words AND ALL our love show the whole world that those negative things aren’t what being in a relationship with Jesus is about. Instead we need to show them our Love - a love that comes from abiding in the one who is Love. To show ALL that a relationship with Jesus, an abiding relationship with Jesus, means always having a place where you are deeply at home and deeply loved by the God who is love.
My prayer for all of us today is that we may abide in Christ. That we may live out his commandment to love others, And that we may invite all, using our actions and words, so that all may come to know God’s abiding love.
Amen.
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
"From East and West, North and South," a sermon on Psalm 107
Psalm 107
“From East and West, North and South”
Preached Sunday, July 31, 2022
The suggested reading of today's Psalm, which I decided to do for time purposes, actually cuts out 32 verses! But when you cut out those verses you lose the testament to what God is doing in the world. So in my sermon today I am going to be quoting from parts of the Psalm that we didn't read - cause it’s worth looking at the big picture of God at work everywhere in the world. The Psalm starts:
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.”
Then the Psalmist tells of 4 examples, presumably one from each direction of the world: from the east and the west, the north and the south. In each cause there is a tale of distress, a cry out to God for deliverance, deliverance, and then thanksgiving to God.
Verses 6, 13, 19 and 28 are the same:
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress
And then the response in verses 8, 15, 21, 31 are the same:
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
It gives the sense that this was a Psalm for congregational use. A call and response.between the leader of the congregation and the worshiping body as together they remember how God is at work in every corner of their world.
And that’s what we need to do today. I think sometimes it can be easy to get into a pit of despair at the world around us or for those of us who are online, get caught in the trap of doomscrolling…but God is at work in our world if we just know where to look. And God is at work in our lives and in our whole world and in every corner of the world in ways we can see if we just look and ways that we will never see in our lives but God is at work in known and unknown ways. So today, let us look for God at work in the world, using the 107th Psalm as a guide.
First, the east:
“Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.”
East of Israel/Palestine lies a vast desert that leads to the eastern side of the fertile crescent. Few would have chosen to wander such a place and perhaps they were brought there by circumstances and trauma beyond their control - with no place to lay their head.
When I think of those in similar situations today, I think of homeless and migrant populations and how God is at work within and among them.
A homeless ministry that is close to my heart is Open Table in Nashville, a United Methodist ministry in Nashville that has a housing and people first approach to working with those without homes. And co-founder of Open Table, Lindsey Krinks write about her relationship with Ken Goslin, a man experience homeless. She says this in an article about first meeting him:
"It was so hot in July. We were both just drenched in sweat and he rolled up to me in his wheelchair and didn’t say anything to me, but he just scribbled this one word on a sheet of paper and held it up. That one word said “Help.” I said, “Well, what’s going on?” And he started writing. It turns out he couldn’t talk or walk because of a brain tumor that was growing into his spinal column. And he hadn’t been getting the care he needed for that. He was staying, at that point, at the mission and would just wheel up and back. He couldn’t get any help because no one would spend the time just sitting down and trying to sort through everything.”
Ken became homeless at the age of 14 as he escaped abuse of every kind - mental, physical, sexual. About how at the age of 14 after being locked in a basement, he decided he’d rather be homeless than deal with the abuse he was experiencing. He worked hard through his life, doing manual labor jobs and moving around, both running from the past and running toward a community and belonging that he was looking for.
Lindsey goes on to describe the friendship with Ken and the relationship that blossomed. How they helped him get his paperwork in order, how they got him access to his disability fund, how they connected him to health care to care for his tumor, and how a friendship blossomed. How they would take him to Starbucks and he’d drink coffee through a feeding tube. How Ken would text the Open Table workers, his friends, because it was the only way he could communicate. And he would sign his texts “I’m a nobody.” Lindsey recounts how they reacted to that: “We’re like, “Ken, you matter. You’re a friend. We are here with you.” And we gradually got to see his “I’m a nobody” thing turn into “I’m a somebody.” And it eventually turned into, “I’m a badass,” which I love. He had a funny sense of humor. I really liked seeing his transformation from a “nobody” to a “somebody” to a “badass,” which shows you that he found his worth along the way as he was dying.”
And Ken did die. They could not operate on his tumor as he was homeless and did not have a place where he could recover. And so he died and his friends from Open Table were with him through hospice care and they were there to bury him and remember him. This is God at work. It is not a success story in the sense most would expect. They cannot say “Ken is alive today and in housing.” But they can say, Ken found community, connection, friendship and the change from “nobody” to “somebody” to “badass.”
God was at work even among those who have no home and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
Let us turn to the west.
“Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
they fell down, with no one to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;”
The West symbolized a place of darkness and death - it is where the sun sets. The Psalmist tells a story of prisoners who are set free. Like those wandering in the desert, those in the bonds of darkness cry out to God in their distress and God hears them and sets them free.
When I think of those in similar situations today, I think of how God is at work among prison ministries, seeking rehabilitation in a system set up against it. And in the work of exoneration and clearing the names of the innocent. If you haven’t seen the movie “Just Mercy” about a death row lawyer who works to exonerate those who are wrongfully convicted, often because of bias against their race, I highly recommend renting the 2019 film. Or picking up the book the movie is based on, the memoir of the defense lawyer. Every time someone is freed from chains, God is at work there.
God is at work even on death row and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
AND, when I think of those who are in chains of darkness, I also think of those who are in the chains of mental health, depression, and despair.
I have a friend and colleague who is a mental health chaplain. And he could not share specific stories with me because of HIPAA but he did share with me that he sees God at work every day. And he said, “God is at work at a table in the mental health unit at Lutheran Hospital as patients gather together to talk about spirituality at a common table. Here patients who are Christian and Wiccan, atheist and believer, addict and sober wonder together how to heal and how to hear the still small voice with many names that calls out with love and says: you belong.”
God is at work in the midst of mental health crisis and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
So let us turn to the north.
“Some were sick through their sinful ways
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;”
Now the North is a little bit of a harder/not as direct translation for us. For the word “sick” can be translated as “foolish ones” and in the Ancient Near East, sickness was often seen as God’s punishment for sin and traditionally, God’s punishment was thought to come from the North. We don’t have the same understanding of sickness today and in fact I would emphatically say that sickness is not a punishment from God. Period.
And when I think of those who are in similar situations today, sick and calling out to God for help, well, I think of the sick. And those who need physical healing. And there are stories of healing out there. So many stories - between the miracle of modern medicine and unexplainable recoveries that we often consider miracles. And yet, miracles and healing are tricky ground. We can certainly give thanksgiving and glory to God for when healings happen and God is at work there. And, I think every single one of us can think of stories of how someone’s community surrounded someone in love and support when they got sick.
How a friend got sick in the early months of dating her now husband and he showed up every day just to bring her soup and hold her hand.
How meal trains pop up and keep new moms and families fed while they're in the thick of recovery and parenting.
How cards and visits and phone calls overwhelm someone with love after a surgery.
How benefit dinners are organized by churches and communities after a diagnosis and the cost of healthcare is overwhelming.
How in the times of sickness, we can see more clearly than other times what we are called to do: to hold one another - in prayer and physically. To care for one another, to show up with love and the healing power of relationship.
And that is us at work, yes, and it’s God at work IN us among the sick. God at work in our world is usually just people being loving to one another!
God is at work in the midst of sickness and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
And now, let us turn to the south.
“Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;”
Now, to the North of Israel/Palestine is the Mediterranean Sea. But wait, didn’t you say south? Well, yes. The Psalmist and translators wanted to point to the four compass directions. And the word translated sea and south in Hebrew are very close. And the Mediterranean Sea was known to be dangerous waters. There are many tales, Biblical and not, of sailors tossed in storms on those seas.
When I think of those in similar situations today, I am sure God is at work in the seas and among sailors, but the point to me is that God is with those in great danger and physical peril. And my brain and heart go out to Ukrainians. And there are so many stories that have come out of Ukraine and there will be many, many more.
While it is hard to see God in the midst of great violence and death - God is there. Weeping with those who weep and mourning with those who mourn and taking a stance against violence and war. And God too is wherever neighbor helps neighbor. Wherever refugees are welcome. Wherever love remains.
Like in the case of 23-year-old nurse Oksana Balandina who lost both her legs and a couple of fingers on her hand in a Russian artillery strike. In order to strengthen her faith in a good future, her fiancé decided to marry her straight away.
Or like the citizens of the town of Moldova who have taken their bedsheets off their own beds when they ran out of sheets for beds in the refugee camp.
How, and this one was particularly touching to me, how Polish mothers left strollers, many filled with children’s clothes and supplies at the train station in Poland at the Ukrainian border. So that when mothers and their children arrived, escaping violence, it would make their welcome that much easier - to have a stroller for their children. It was an act of solidarity, mothers to mothers.
Yes, even in the worst possible situations, God is at work in love and solidarity and welcome.
“From East and West, North and South”
Preached Sunday, July 31, 2022
The suggested reading of today's Psalm, which I decided to do for time purposes, actually cuts out 32 verses! But when you cut out those verses you lose the testament to what God is doing in the world. So in my sermon today I am going to be quoting from parts of the Psalm that we didn't read - cause it’s worth looking at the big picture of God at work everywhere in the world. The Psalm starts:
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.”
Then the Psalmist tells of 4 examples, presumably one from each direction of the world: from the east and the west, the north and the south. In each cause there is a tale of distress, a cry out to God for deliverance, deliverance, and then thanksgiving to God.
Verses 6, 13, 19 and 28 are the same:
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress
And then the response in verses 8, 15, 21, 31 are the same:
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
It gives the sense that this was a Psalm for congregational use. A call and response.between the leader of the congregation and the worshiping body as together they remember how God is at work in every corner of their world.
And that’s what we need to do today. I think sometimes it can be easy to get into a pit of despair at the world around us or for those of us who are online, get caught in the trap of doomscrolling…but God is at work in our world if we just know where to look. And God is at work in our lives and in our whole world and in every corner of the world in ways we can see if we just look and ways that we will never see in our lives but God is at work in known and unknown ways. So today, let us look for God at work in the world, using the 107th Psalm as a guide.
First, the east:
“Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.”
East of Israel/Palestine lies a vast desert that leads to the eastern side of the fertile crescent. Few would have chosen to wander such a place and perhaps they were brought there by circumstances and trauma beyond their control - with no place to lay their head.
When I think of those in similar situations today, I think of homeless and migrant populations and how God is at work within and among them.
A homeless ministry that is close to my heart is Open Table in Nashville, a United Methodist ministry in Nashville that has a housing and people first approach to working with those without homes. And co-founder of Open Table, Lindsey Krinks write about her relationship with Ken Goslin, a man experience homeless. She says this in an article about first meeting him:
"It was so hot in July. We were both just drenched in sweat and he rolled up to me in his wheelchair and didn’t say anything to me, but he just scribbled this one word on a sheet of paper and held it up. That one word said “Help.” I said, “Well, what’s going on?” And he started writing. It turns out he couldn’t talk or walk because of a brain tumor that was growing into his spinal column. And he hadn’t been getting the care he needed for that. He was staying, at that point, at the mission and would just wheel up and back. He couldn’t get any help because no one would spend the time just sitting down and trying to sort through everything.”
Ken became homeless at the age of 14 as he escaped abuse of every kind - mental, physical, sexual. About how at the age of 14 after being locked in a basement, he decided he’d rather be homeless than deal with the abuse he was experiencing. He worked hard through his life, doing manual labor jobs and moving around, both running from the past and running toward a community and belonging that he was looking for.
Lindsey goes on to describe the friendship with Ken and the relationship that blossomed. How they helped him get his paperwork in order, how they got him access to his disability fund, how they connected him to health care to care for his tumor, and how a friendship blossomed. How they would take him to Starbucks and he’d drink coffee through a feeding tube. How Ken would text the Open Table workers, his friends, because it was the only way he could communicate. And he would sign his texts “I’m a nobody.” Lindsey recounts how they reacted to that: “We’re like, “Ken, you matter. You’re a friend. We are here with you.” And we gradually got to see his “I’m a nobody” thing turn into “I’m a somebody.” And it eventually turned into, “I’m a badass,” which I love. He had a funny sense of humor. I really liked seeing his transformation from a “nobody” to a “somebody” to a “badass,” which shows you that he found his worth along the way as he was dying.”
And Ken did die. They could not operate on his tumor as he was homeless and did not have a place where he could recover. And so he died and his friends from Open Table were with him through hospice care and they were there to bury him and remember him. This is God at work. It is not a success story in the sense most would expect. They cannot say “Ken is alive today and in housing.” But they can say, Ken found community, connection, friendship and the change from “nobody” to “somebody” to “badass.”
God was at work even among those who have no home and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
Let us turn to the west.
“Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
they fell down, with no one to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;”
The West symbolized a place of darkness and death - it is where the sun sets. The Psalmist tells a story of prisoners who are set free. Like those wandering in the desert, those in the bonds of darkness cry out to God in their distress and God hears them and sets them free.
When I think of those in similar situations today, I think of how God is at work among prison ministries, seeking rehabilitation in a system set up against it. And in the work of exoneration and clearing the names of the innocent. If you haven’t seen the movie “Just Mercy” about a death row lawyer who works to exonerate those who are wrongfully convicted, often because of bias against their race, I highly recommend renting the 2019 film. Or picking up the book the movie is based on, the memoir of the defense lawyer. Every time someone is freed from chains, God is at work there.
God is at work even on death row and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
AND, when I think of those who are in chains of darkness, I also think of those who are in the chains of mental health, depression, and despair.
I have a friend and colleague who is a mental health chaplain. And he could not share specific stories with me because of HIPAA but he did share with me that he sees God at work every day. And he said, “God is at work at a table in the mental health unit at Lutheran Hospital as patients gather together to talk about spirituality at a common table. Here patients who are Christian and Wiccan, atheist and believer, addict and sober wonder together how to heal and how to hear the still small voice with many names that calls out with love and says: you belong.”
God is at work in the midst of mental health crisis and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
So let us turn to the north.
“Some were sick through their sinful ways
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;”
Now the North is a little bit of a harder/not as direct translation for us. For the word “sick” can be translated as “foolish ones” and in the Ancient Near East, sickness was often seen as God’s punishment for sin and traditionally, God’s punishment was thought to come from the North. We don’t have the same understanding of sickness today and in fact I would emphatically say that sickness is not a punishment from God. Period.
And when I think of those who are in similar situations today, sick and calling out to God for help, well, I think of the sick. And those who need physical healing. And there are stories of healing out there. So many stories - between the miracle of modern medicine and unexplainable recoveries that we often consider miracles. And yet, miracles and healing are tricky ground. We can certainly give thanksgiving and glory to God for when healings happen and God is at work there. And, I think every single one of us can think of stories of how someone’s community surrounded someone in love and support when they got sick.
How a friend got sick in the early months of dating her now husband and he showed up every day just to bring her soup and hold her hand.
How meal trains pop up and keep new moms and families fed while they're in the thick of recovery and parenting.
How cards and visits and phone calls overwhelm someone with love after a surgery.
How benefit dinners are organized by churches and communities after a diagnosis and the cost of healthcare is overwhelming.
How in the times of sickness, we can see more clearly than other times what we are called to do: to hold one another - in prayer and physically. To care for one another, to show up with love and the healing power of relationship.
And that is us at work, yes, and it’s God at work IN us among the sick. God at work in our world is usually just people being loving to one another!
God is at work in the midst of sickness and so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
And now, let us turn to the south.
“Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;”
Now, to the North of Israel/Palestine is the Mediterranean Sea. But wait, didn’t you say south? Well, yes. The Psalmist and translators wanted to point to the four compass directions. And the word translated sea and south in Hebrew are very close. And the Mediterranean Sea was known to be dangerous waters. There are many tales, Biblical and not, of sailors tossed in storms on those seas.
When I think of those in similar situations today, I am sure God is at work in the seas and among sailors, but the point to me is that God is with those in great danger and physical peril. And my brain and heart go out to Ukrainians. And there are so many stories that have come out of Ukraine and there will be many, many more.
While it is hard to see God in the midst of great violence and death - God is there. Weeping with those who weep and mourning with those who mourn and taking a stance against violence and war. And God too is wherever neighbor helps neighbor. Wherever refugees are welcome. Wherever love remains.
Like in the case of 23-year-old nurse Oksana Balandina who lost both her legs and a couple of fingers on her hand in a Russian artillery strike. In order to strengthen her faith in a good future, her fiancé decided to marry her straight away.
Or like the citizens of the town of Moldova who have taken their bedsheets off their own beds when they ran out of sheets for beds in the refugee camp.
How, and this one was particularly touching to me, how Polish mothers left strollers, many filled with children’s clothes and supplies at the train station in Poland at the Ukrainian border. So that when mothers and their children arrived, escaping violence, it would make their welcome that much easier - to have a stroller for their children. It was an act of solidarity, mothers to mothers.
Yes, even in the worst possible situations, God is at work in love and solidarity and welcome.
And so we join our voices with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
East, West, North and South.
God is at work in every corner of our world.
Today just a small handful of stories were told - they aren’t the full picture of what God is doing in this world - that’s billions of stories. Look for them, read them, share them - and create them.
God is at work everywhere in our world. Wherever we look in this world, whatever direction we look in, we will be able to find God at work in our world. Even when we look right here - closer to home. And God is at work here and God is at work within you.
We pray today that God could use us to help others see God at work. Use us to answer their calls of distress. And that through our actions, all people would have cause to sing praises to God along with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
Amen.
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
East, West, North and South.
God is at work in every corner of our world.
Today just a small handful of stories were told - they aren’t the full picture of what God is doing in this world - that’s billions of stories. Look for them, read them, share them - and create them.
God is at work everywhere in our world. Wherever we look in this world, whatever direction we look in, we will be able to find God at work in our world. Even when we look right here - closer to home. And God is at work here and God is at work within you.
We pray today that God could use us to help others see God at work. Use us to answer their calls of distress. And that through our actions, all people would have cause to sing praises to God along with the Psalmist:
“Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.”
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)